Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, on Thursday decried the alarming cancer burden in the country, stating that cancers account for 127,000 cases annually, with about 80,000 deaths each year.
The minister disclosed this while commissioning a cancer centre at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina.
According to him, non-communicable diseases like cancer are among the fastest-growing components of Nigeria’s disease burden, and as a result, the country is expected to see a rise in cancer cases.
He expressed confidence that future generations of Nigerians will come to appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his efforts in the health sector.
“This is the best cancer centre in the world. It’s a promise kept by Mr president. It’s we Nigerians that can fix our own health sector, not any other country”, he stated.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, Dr Suleiman Bello, announced that the state-of-the-art Cancer Centre, was remodelled and equipped by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare Oncology Initiative.
Bello explained that the process of establishment of the Centre started in 2019 when three young Medical Officers were recruited and sent for residency in Radio-Oncology.
He maintained that the Centre has a 20-bedded Chemotherapy Suite with private suites for VIPs and it equally has a Pharmacy compounding room for preparation of chemotherapeutic drugs for patients by Pharmacists.
